Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Well, it looks like JDate has struck again! You may not know this, but many single Jews have had tremendous luck finding partners on the Jewish dating website, JDate.com. In my four years of the rabbinate, I have already officiated at a number of weddings for couples who met on JDate.

Personally, I have had some interesting successes. The last relationship (which you have heard about before) was a product of a JDate match. And we were together for four years (and I am more than pleased that we are no longer together... but that is another story for another time...)! Not bad, eh?

Well, my steady readers may remember that I had recently decided to re-enter the dating scene. I felt ready to start meeting guys again, if only to start getting my feet wet in the proverbial sea of dating (there are always other fish in said sea). Of course, right after I decided to start dating again, I also decided to aggressively pursue surgery on my back. Thus, the big dating plans didn't really happen.

Well, fast forward to two weeks ago - I met a great, new guy on JDate!! Here I am, actively healing from spinal surgery, and I had a date! Crazy, right? I can't even explain to you why I agreed to it, but I just felt that it was the right thing.

Granted, my grandmother died in the middle of the first date..... That's great first date conversation material right there...

But that is neither here nor there.

We have had three dates so far, each one even better than the last. I might really be getting attached to this one.

Over the next few posts, I will tell you more about him, and share with you some of my fears and concerns over dating again (oy, I don't want to get hurt again).

Friday, February 22, 2008

Hi, everyone! I feel so lucky to know so many caring, kind people in the "blogosphere." Your notes and condolences have meant so much to me over the past days.

SO, bringing you up to date: I was in Chicago for my grandmother's funeral. My doctors gave me permission to fly, as long as I took all possible precautions along the way. I made sure to arrange for a wheelchair on both ends of the flight, which was incredibly helpful. At Newark Airport, the man who pushed my wheelchair, I found out, used to be a college professor in philosophy and psychology in his home country of Egypt. However, now that he lived in America, he did not know enough English to continue his career. Thus, he was stuck pushing wheelchairs in the airport as he learned more English. How sad! I really enjoyed talking with him and seeing pictures of his adorable children.

The funeral and shiva (the traditional Jewish days of mourning, usually lasting a week) were.... complicated. My grandmother was kind to me throughout my life, but caused a lot of pain and misery for other relatives of mine. It was somewhat difficult to eulogize her and make her sound righteous. My aunt kept talking about my grandmother's "honesty and insistence on the truth," yet I kept thinking about how much her "honesty" hurt people close to me. Nevertheless, we got through it all, and I got to spend time with my family.

Once I came back to the NYC area, I prepared for a return to work. I can't really explain why, but I finally felt significantly better. I went back to work this week, as fully as possible, and it felt so good to be there. I missed the ins and outs of the rabbinate - preparing for this Shabbat's Torah study, submitting a piece of text for the pamphlet handed out during services, sending out congratulatory letters to new babies and weddings in our congregation... it is all so fulfilling. And, after two days back at the temple, I was tired but not in pain. Yay!

Which brings me to today - SNOW!!! I really planned on going in today (though not staying for services - too much right now), but there are six inches of snow on the ground!! And there will only be more on the way! It looks beautiful, but I am terrified of slipping and falling (again). Thus, I will work from home today on some projects and stay nice and warm :)

I hope you all had a good week, and I look forward to visiting your blogs to catch up. Take care! Have a lovely weekend!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Dear friends, I wanted to let you know that my grandmother, whom I called Amma, passed away today. I promised my grandmother, years ago, that I would officiate at her funeral. This brought her great peace. It is one of those promises that you hope never to fulfill.

I have been given permission from my doctors to fly, though I am not looking forward to it. I have made all the appropriate "handicapped" provisions: wheelchair on departure and arrival, special seating on the plane, note on my ticket. I hope all goes well, physically, so that I can be present, emotionally.

Illinois friends, I wish I could see you on this trip! Will have to be sure to come out again, soon, for a good reason.

Wishing you all the best, and hoping that you had good memories with your grandparents. Now that my Amma is gone, I have no more living grandparents. Yet, I am confident, they will always live on, in my memory, in my heart, and in my soul.

Hello, friends! As I got up this morning, I decided that I wanted to get out of the house and do some walking (an important part of my recovery). I live less than a mile from a mall, so I decided to drive there, have lunch, and walk around slowly. I was even looking forward to blogging about my adventure when I got home!

Well, after I gave into my Arby's craving (what I wouldn't do for a Beef and Cheddar!!!), I decided to treat myself to my first mani and pedi, post-surgery. Considering that I cannot reach my feet as of yet, I was really excited!

I got my toes done in a BRIGHT red - one of my favorites. I got up off the chair and walked over to the manicure station, turned around to sit down properly... Started to sit down.... And the chair rolled out from under me.

And I wound up on the floor. On my tush.

It took me a while to get back up. I sat down, with help, and slowly relaxed. At my sister's insistence, I called the doctor to ask if I should be worried. The nurse told me to ice constantly for the rest of the day and drink lots of fluids. The area may get swollen, but I am not allowed to take any advil or aleve because they interfere with the bone fusion process. If I don't feel okay in the morning, I will have to go in for an x-ray.

So, for now, I will ice, take my painkillers, drink up and rest. I will keep you all up to date.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

I mean, what a cool concept! For whatever reason, the original artist, or even another artist, decides to continue the storyline of the first song. I am thinking of a few right off the bat:

Metallica - "Unforgiven" and "Unforgiven II" This one might be obvious, particularly due to those roman numerals at the end of the second song. There are even some lyrics repeated in the second song that were from the original.

Lesley Gore - "It's My Party" and "It's Judy's Turn to Cry" This is one of my most favorite examples - the story from the first song, in which Judy steals her boyfriend, thus causing Lesley to cry at her own party, continues in the second song. Now, it's Judy's turn to cry! So there! Interesting Trivia - Lesley Gore was originally Lesley Sue Goldstein, and she came out as a lesbian in 2005. Thanks, Wikipedia!

David Bowie - "Space Oddity," and Peter Schilling, "Major Tom" Well, this one just blew me away. I thought that these were the only two songs that dealt with Major Tom, but, boy, I thought wrong! It turns out that there is a whole world of songs that further along the mythology of the Major Tom character. David Bowie added the song "Ashes to Ashes," and then other people from all over the world have written other songs. What a phenomenon! Check out the Major Tom article on Wikipedia for the whole list of songs and artists, and examples of the lyrics.

So, what Sequel Songs are you aware of? They can be by the same artist, or a response from another artist.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Well, folks, I got a great report at the surgeon's today. I had my six-week (can it already be six weeks since my surgery?!??) check-up today, which included an x-ray. All is well! So far, my spine is healing, the screws are where they should be, and the bone is fusing properly. I am right on track for my healing process.

I told them about the increased pain I have had over the past few weeks, and they said that is, indeed, a very normal phenomenon. As I get better, I unintentionally do too much, and thus set myself back a few days. This happened two weeks ago, and again this past week. Apparently, once you hit the four week mark, you have a greater risk of pain. Guess it is human nature to get all excited about feeling better, and go wild (wild being - sitting for a WHOLE HOUR at once - isn't that CRAZY BEHAVIOR?!?!?). Teehee!

Most people do not start physical therapy until 3 months after surgery, but the surgeon said that I am doing so well that I can start now! He prescribed gentle massage (no complaints here), gentle isometrics, and modalities (heat, STIM, etc.). I hope to start that up next week.

It is so reassuring to be told that, a) it is normal to be in pain right now, and, b) I am really getting better. My doctor also said that it might take me longer to heal from all the pain because I was in pain for so long (three long years). My body has a lot of catching up to do.